Saturday, November 15, 2008

Ballroom Boxing Update!

An interesting card is being put together for this Thursday's Ballroom Boxing card at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie, MD. There is good local participation as well as some out-of-towners that should grab some interest.

The bout that many in the area are talking about is the scheduled 10-round featherweight rematch between Baltimore's Tyrell "Da Show Shock'A" Samuel and Ron "Teflon" Boyd of DC that will be for the Maryland State Featherweight title. The first contest went to Samuel in a razor-thin, six-round split decision on the last Ballroom Boxing card on September 25. Neither Samuel (10-2, five KO's) nor Boyd (5-4, two KO's) have fought since their last encounter.

The card will also see the return of Baltimore super middleweight Mike "The Persecutor" Paschall (17-1-1, four KO's) who will be in action for the first time since his nationally-televised loss to Andre Dirrell on August 2 in Tacoma, WA. Paschall lost by fourth-round TKO when Dirrell opened a vicious cut on Paschall's forehead that caused bleeding that ringside physicians could not stop. No official word yet on who Paschall's opponent will be.

Two of the out-of-town boxers are making their second trip to Maryland in less than 30 days. "Contender--Season One" star Joey Gilbert of Reno, NV (16-1, 12 KO's) returns as does highly-touted female prospect Katy Klinefelter (2-0, one KO). Both boxers scored victories on the Jonathan Ogden Foundation card at Martin's Valley Mansion in Cockeysville on October 30.

Also slated to be on the card is rookie middleweight Bastie "The Beast" Samir of Las Vegas, NV by way of Ghana. Samir (1-0, one KO) made his pro debut on November 8 in York, PA scoring a first-round knockout over Marvin Blair. Samir was the captain of the 2008 Ghanan Olympic Team.

UPDATE: Beltway Boxers have been added en masse to this show. Temple Hills, MD's Jarell Mason Jackson (7-5-1, three KO's) returns to action for the first time since February of 2007 when he moves up to light heavyweight to face Landover, MD's Carlos "The Headbanger" Jones (5-13, three KO's) in a six-round rematch of a bout that Jackson won by six-round TKO on February 18, 2006 at the George Mason University Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA.

There will also be a four-round heavyweight bout between Laurel, MD's "The Big Ticket" Dwayne McRae and DC's Kareem Wilson. McRae won his pro debutby knockout while Wilson lost his pro debut by disqualification last Friday in Millersville, MD.

Undefeated out-of-town prospects Terrence Crawford and Steve Weimer return to the Ballroom as well. Crawford, a junior welterweight from Omaha, NB (5-0, three KO's) makes his second trip to Glen Burnie and will face Ugandan native Hassan Wasswa, now fighting out of Minneapolis, MN (5-8-2, two KO's). Crawford stopped Filiberto Nieto in the first round in his last Ballroom outing on April 3.

Weimer, a welterweight from York, PA (3-0, two KO's) is coming off a four-round unanimous decision over Trenton Titsworth on November 8 in York, PA. Weimer will face Manny Cotrich of Las Vegas (1-2, one KO) in a four-round bout, looking to duplicate his last Ballroom appearance where he scored a first-round TKO against Juan Thompson on September 25.

Katy Klinefelter is now off the show and the opponents for Mike Paschall and Joey Gilbert are scheduled to be announced later today.

Ballroom Boxing is working alongside TKO Boxing Promotions with this card.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who did the matchmaking?

Gary Digital Williams said...

I believe Chris Middendorf is working with the folks from TKO Promotions.

Anonymous said...

Is this new? Thought he always did the Matchmaking. Could you or someone provide more info on who TKO Promotions is? I tried their website, but it's just flyers with not much info on them.

Gary Digital Williams said...

Not really. Chris has been the matchmaking for TKO Promotions for awhile.

I'm not sure where they are based, but TKO has been very busy in a short period of time, doing shows in York, PA and Texas over the last few months.

They have some quality boxers under contract that have already been seen in the Beltway area, including Carney Bowman, Steve Weimer as well as Gilbert and Klinefelter. Hopefully, they'll sign some area talent in the future.

Anonymous said...

Thanks. Just don't want to lose one of best BATB treasures.

Anonymous said...

This is a three part post:

1. I am the matchmaker for both promoters. The Ballroom show is the 93rd show in the series that has covered thirteen years.Like a fine wine it is only getting better. TKO Boxing is based in Houston, with a gym and offices in Las Vegas, and a gym that will open soon in New Jersey. TKO has done five shows, including two shows in York and the Tenth Anniversary show of ESPN Friday Night Fights this past September in Austin, Texas. TKO Boxing is building a national brand and we have already scheduled 23 shows for 2009 and will be adding at least eight more. As part of building a national promotional company, we are developing working relationships with several promoters in different parts of the country, and joining forces to promote quality shows. As TKO is promoting in York, working with Ballroom is an easy step to make. From my perspective as matchmaker for both, it helps me to do the shows that the Ballroom audience is accustomed to seeing- the best Beltway talent mixed with some of the best prospects from around the world.

2. What has made Ballroom Boxing the longest running and most successful Beltway promoter for so long is that mix that I mentioned above. Our fans come to see our shows because they know that they will see quality matchups that will include not only Beltway fighters but other top talent. We are about delivering to our audience the highest level of product that we can within the confines of club showing boxing. We do it well and that is why we have been called "the best club show in America". What differentiates Ballroom shows is that our goal is to put on a quality product that is compelling so our fans will buy tickets and come out the next time. We are not about putting on C level fighters whose individual fans come out and root them on and that is all. We are happy to have fans of our athletes come out and root them on, but if you really look at our audience over the years, they have come out because of a quality boxing show experience, not because they are friends of some Tom, Dick or Tony that they know from high school or the neighborhood hang out. Our fans will come out and cheer like crazy for the kid from Baltimore or bet on the guy from the red corner, or go crazy for a new kid who beat the kid from Baltimore on the last show and has now become a fan favorite. That is the essence of what Scott has set as the mandate for Ballroom Boxing. And that is why our shows are unique not only to the area, but to the whole country.

3. Thursday night- when I watched the first fight between Tyrell Samuel and Ron Boyd, I realized that I had made a horrible mistake. Both of these athletes was at the top of their game and it should never have been a six round fight. The level of intensity and the overall excellence of their performances made it automatic to do a rematch. The fight will be for the Maryland State Featherweight Title which is just another way to add a little hype to this battle. It is Baltimore vs. DC, it is a young up and comer in Samuel trying to remain that against a very savvy hard punching Boyd, who is much better than his record shows.
Also on the card will be the first fight back for Mike Paschall since his first shot on national tv where he performed heroically against super talent and former Ballroom fighter, Andre Dirrell. In addition, Contender Series I star Joey Gilbert will be making his first appearance at the Ballroom.
And finally, we will showcase two of TKO's young stars. Terrence Crawford, who has already been here once, is now (5-0). Former national amateur champion, Crawford will be someone to follow as he moves up through the lightweight ranks. The new treat for our audience will be the second pro fight of Ghanian Olympian Bastie "The Beast" Samir. Bastie is a world class talent that is coming off his first professional knockout two weeks ago in York. This kid is worth seeing now as his professional style begins to emerge, because he will be seen again on the national stage. He is an exciting fighter to watch with bruatl punching power.

From Tyrell and Ron, to Paschall, Gilbert, Crawford and the Beast, this will be a show to see.

Linda "Great Shot" Siadys said...

Thanks for the post Chris. Answers the questions and then some!

Linda "Great Shot" Siadys said...

Apologize, this is off topic, but J.D. Brown, Willie Taylor and most of all... good 'ol BJ this is for you!

http://photodawg1.smugmug.com/gallery/6487258_bqqZ8/9/418369119_n6NM3#418369119_n6NM3

Linda "Great Shot" Siadys said...

http://photodawg1.smugmug.com/gallery/
6487258_bqqZ8/9/
418369119_n6NM3#418369119_n6NM3

Anonymous said...

Gary,

Are you going to do pre-fight interviews with Ron Boyd and Tyrell Samuel?

Gary Digital Williams said...

I'm going to try, but it might be tough so close to the card. I won't be able to make the weigh-in on Wednesday either.

Anonymous said...

Mike will not fight anybody that can fight. Maybe Carlos Jones.

Gary Digital Williams said...

Paschall has already fought Jones.

Anonymous said...

He also lost against Dirrel.

Anonymous said...

who have u fought

Anonymous said...

thats what i thought